The Wife of Lovejoy

And thou, devoted Wife! who nobly stood
     With martyr-zeal, and in the strength sublime
     Of a fond Heart, withstood the men of crime
Who sought, with fiend-like rage, thy husband’s blood—
Bereft of earthly hope, and in the flood
     Of a dark sorrow overwhelmed, hat no
     For thee remains? Submissively to bow
And own the chast’ning of a Father’s rod!
God help thee, broken Heart! Thy sacrifice
     Is mighty, but it shall not be in vain—
     His blood!—thy tears!—they shall not sink, like rain,
Unnoted to the ground. From freemen’s eyes
The scales are falling—and this wo shall be
The ransom of a people! Joy, in grief, for thee!

Joy! that through this, thy fearful suffering.
     Deliverance for the captive shall be wrought!
     The chain is snapped that bound the Indignant thought
In human breasts too long—and men will fling
     Fear from their spirits as they think of thee,
     And strike for Freedom till the Earth be free!
For a stern purpose thou art set apart
     By this most bloody baptism! ‘Mid distress
Then bear thou up, and gird around thy heart
     Strength for his sake who now is fatherless,
Lean upon God and linger yet awhile.
     And from thy desolation thou shalt see
The dawning of the day of Jubilee,
When the freed Earth shall bask in Heaven’s reviving smile!